All language subtitles for What.Was.Ours.2016.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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(wind howls)

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(Native American chanting)

(rhythmic drumming)

(speaking foreign language)

- A lot of things are lost.

Most kids don't know about how

we used to be in the old days.

That knowledge is fading away.

We're not gonna really
know everything now.

- Arapaho and
Shoshone people have

always wanted a museum
on the reservation.

- Asking to borrow our
artifacts, when people

hear that they're like why
do you guys have to ask?

They're ours.

- A lot of the
stuff that was gone

from this reservation is stolen.

We have lost it.

We have to bring
those artifacts back.

(dramatic orchestral music)

I've seen the tail
end of those things.

When I was growing
up, my grandpas and

grandmas, they used
some of those things.

(car revs)

There were some Shoshone
up in the mountains.

The calvary couldn't
get them down

because it was
too rough on them.

So they just left them alone.

I would say that's
one part of the

Shoshone that never
was conquered.

I'm part of that clan.

I am a mountain Shoshone.

(wind howls)

(dramatic orchestral music)

In Vietnam, I carried
a good luck charm.

I wore that thing every day.

I was assigned to a helicopter.

I was drafted, so they can
put me anywhere they want.

I heard gossip from the
people around me that

the life expectancy of
a gunner is 12 hours.

(helicopter whirring)

I named my chopper Sacagawea.

Bird woman, you know?

Leader of the Western
Oregon Expedition.

We were escorting
some ground troops.

Sniper put a bullet
right through

our (mumbles), we
were coming down.

We crash landed.

It was all jungle, thick jungle.

Me and a gunner, our duty was to

head up a perimeter
for the chopper.

To protect it.

About five minutes after we
landed, I could hear voices.

They were talking
Vietnamese, they were

soldiers trying to get to us.

I just made up my mind.

I (mumbles) my machine gun.

I'm not gonna go
to no prison camp.

Die fighting.

And I tied my good luck charm,

along with my dog
tags, on my neck.

My great great
grandmother taught me

of warriors a long time ago.

Pray for your enemy.

Right then I start praying.

Help me survive and pray for my

enemy that we won't
see each other

and we won't hurt each
other, pray that way.

I prayed to the Creator.

I want to live, I told Him.

(laughs) That's what
I told the Creator.

And choppers come by, they were

near us, and we
jumped on it, got out.

The items have power as long
as Creator's involved with it.

I've come through some dangerous

situations and this
has kept me safe.

(car revs)

- Very sacred objects are
what carried us through.

And helped us survive.

(rhythmic drumming)
(ethereal music)

Growing up on the Wind
River Reservation, I learned

that storytelling was
important to our tribe.

It's important to our
survival of our culture.

Objects are a big part
of how we tell our story.

They're living parts
of our culture.

They carry on the
memories of the makers.

As a kid, I always
heard (mumbles).

I always heard a drum.

It's humbling to
hear that because you

know that you're part
of a bigger picture.

You're part of this
long, rich history.

You always had that
respect for these items.

You treat them like you would
treat another human being.

I decided to go to school, to go

to college and study journalism.

I had been gone from the
reservation for four years.

I was really glad
when I moved home.

Wind River is like a
magnet that draws you back.

* Happy birthday dear Penelope

- You get to see
each other, you get

to be around each
other, and you get

to feel that love
with one another.

You look forward to it because

it helps you, it
makes you feel good.

Living on the
reservation, there's a

certain routine
that you develop.

You don't rush things.

- It's really hard
for an Indian boy.

We're a close knit family.

Watching them grow
up and everything.

They don't have the
opportunity to go outside,

and when they do go
outside, they're so used

to home, being close,
so they come back.

- When I graduated, I
didn't know what to do.

I just decided to come home.

I moved home out of a
conflict within myself.

You had this outside
influence telling

you to chase the American dream.

But also we have
another side of us,

our native side, that's telling

us to think about your people.

Growing up on the
reservation, you hear

elders tell you you're
gonna be the future,

you're important for
your tribe's survival.

That's a heavy thing.

It's up to us to make everything

survive and the
culture thrive again.

It's objects, songs, it's
dances, it's the language.

Just trying to find your way.

That's all on us.

It's difficult.

(children giggling)

Do you go and chase
this ambition?

Or do you stay here and
see what you can create?

Maybe everybody does
eventually find their way.

- I'm 17 years old.

I'm definitely ready to
be done with high school.

I plan to travel.

There is a bigger
world out there.

I am ready to close
this chapter in my life

and start a new one and
go off into the world.

My family lives very close
together on the same land.

I have a bunch of
nieces and nephews.

It's easy for us to get
together and see each other.

- Hi, baby!

Hi!

- Haley, do you need a spoon?

- We were determined
we were gonna give

our children the ultimate
Indian childhood.

It'll be up to our kids
and their kids and their

kids to keep that connection
to that world alive.

It'll come in its own time,
however you wanna do it.

Macayla is clinging
onto whatever

she can of her Arapaho ways.

(Native American singing)
(rhythmic drumming)

- Ladies and gentlemen,
our Denver March

Powwow Princess, Miss
Macayla Summer Sunroads.

(applause)

- I'm from Ethete,
Wyoming, I'm northern

Arapaho and (mumbles)
pueblo, I would

just really really like
to thank all of you

for coming, singers,
dancers, spectators.

(cheers and applause)

My title is Miss Denver
March Powwow 2012.

(Native American singing)

As I grew up I noticed
the detail and what

went into all of the
regalia and the bead work.

(rhythmic drumming)

Every item does
have a story to the

designs, everything
that went into it.

I think time is
running out for us

to learn about these items and

there are more
elders passing away.

They have a lot of knowledge and

that knowledge is fading away.

Our languages, our ceremonies,
and dancing was outlawed.

Our ancestors went
through a lot.

Dancing was a resistance against

things that were
going on in the world.

(ethereal music)

The non-native and the native
world are two separate worlds.

I'm dancing in both worlds.

(rhythmic drumming)

- You wanna take a
little trip back in time?

You're in the right place.

We celebrate the
wild west because it

symbolizes the way
things were and how hard

it was to conquer a land
that built a nation.

(marching band music)

- When I think of
the Wind River Indian

Reservation I think
of home, my family.

To be honest, I think that
people think it's scary.

People hear about the
crime, the alcohol,

drugs because of the news.

(police siren wailing)

Sometimes you just
get overwhelmed.

There are many different
young people that

wanna see a bright future
for our reservation.

- There is ignorance in
Wyoming about the reservation.

I went to school at
Lander, which was off the

reservation, and we never
talked about the tribes at all.

The Wind River
Casino has given the

Northern Arapaho
tribe leverage it's

never had before,
especially in Wyoming.

- That casino, we fought for it.

Don't have alcoholic
drinks in there.

The main purpose of that casino
is to benefit our people.

- You can't deny that
it's become an economic

force to start creating
other opportunities.

They asked me to work
on a small museum

located in that hotel
lobby to be able to share

our story with people
who don't know us.

I started looking around
at different museums.

I was like okay, well then
we gotta ask questions.

It was a little baffling
to me that there

wasn't a lot of artifacts
on the reservation.

I remember there being a museum

here on the Wind River
Indian Reservation.

Elders in the
community would go to

the museum and watch
over the artifacts.

One of them was Macayla
Sunroads's grandfather.

When they passed on, there was
nobody left to keep it going.

And so it closed down.

To bring those
objects back, it'd be

a wonderful thing to
have them all here,

but the artifacts are now being

stored a few hundred miles away.

And they're owned by
the episcopal church.

- The diocese was
approached by a young man,

Jordan Dresser, who
told us of a museum that

they were going to be
creating at the casino.

My immediate response
was not hugely positive

because of what I
felt were the moral

and ethical issues
of displaying items

at a casino where
I know people from

around the state
might have problems

of addiction, of
gambling addiction.

I wanted to be sure that we
were doing the right thing.

What I did was I set
up a conversation with

the leaders at our
Arapaho mission and

asked them, I said
I'm not going to

let the casino
borrow these items

unless you give
me your blessing.

There are about 200
pieces in the collection.

- And to God, who we (mumbles).

In the name of the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

- The first reaction
on the artifacts

going to the casino was no.

The older ones told
us no, we don't

want them there, they
don't belong there.

People thought that was no
place to store the artifacts.

- I felt like we were ready.

The room was ready, the
cases, the temperature.

I viewed it as this
is a good spot.

It's frustrating
for me because it's

the idea that as native people,

we always have to
negotiate, we always have

to compromise, and we
have to ask permission.

A lot of individuals within
Wyoming have the idea

that native people can't
do things on their own.

They can't take care
of whatever it may be,

whether it be
artifacts, whether it be

their own money,
whether it be their own

language, whatever it
is, their own education,

that they can't do
it on their own.

It gets old.

The Northern Arapaho
Experience opened.

And the cases were empty.

They were just glass cases
that had a lot of light,

a lot of wood, and a
lot of nothing in there.

(chuckles)

(somber acoustic guitar music)

- Nobody on this reservation
has done that before.

There's no Native
American curators here.

- Church owns them.

I'm sure they took
good care of them.

It was a good idea to
keep them for the future.

- We'd just like
them back, you know?

- It's like walking into a fog.

How do you even start it, how do

you even begin this journey?

Most old style
items that belong to

the people of Wind
River are stored

in sites away from
the reservation.

You look at museums, websites,

and you see these
great collections.

Well how did they get them?

How did they get them?

These museums are
keepers now of items

that belong to
tribal people that's

gotta be in the tens
and tens of thousands.

I felt disillusioned.

But then I learned that a large

collection of artifacts
that belong to the

people of Wind River
were stored in Chicago.

- The Field Museum, in the late

1800s, early 1900s,
sent anthropologists

to reservations and
build these collections

and their reasoning
at the time was that

they thought that
this was the end of

Indian culture, that they
would no longer exist.

- I think this idea that
Native Americans were a

dying grace really speaks
of the place and time.

They just didn't view
Indians as people.

Indians were viewed as, almost
in a sense, like objects.

- There was a belief
that traditional

cultures were
going to disappear.

They were going in to save the

material culture that
was going to be lost.

Museums played a role
in conserving that
material culture.

At the same time, I
think museums played

a role in the
disappearance of that

material culture
as they went in and

they gathered
literally everything

they could get their hands on.

- Let's take these items,
I don't think these

people are smart enough
to take care of them.

It was this idea that they
belonged to the world.

So therefore you remove them and

you place them in these museums.

But these objects
are away from the

people who can
interpret them best.

I started working
on a project that

would take digital photos of the

artifacts and put
them on a website.

I saw that as a good first step.

The Chicago Field Museum agreed

to a visit from
members of both tribes.

But we weren't gonna
return home with artifacts.

It's a system we
have to go through.

Right away, some of the elders
stepped up and wanted to go.

But they wanted to bring
younger people along too.

These artifacts can
be tools that can

help transfer that knowledge on

and make them wanna learn more.

Learn more about their
own selves in a sense.

- There is definitely
some kind of spiritual

connection still
tied to those items.

I'm not too sure, but I wanna go

see the artifacts in the museum.

- The elders, they
might feel like

they're touching
things that are sacred.

We don't just go in and
start digging around.

- I would rather stay away.

- I'd be concerned
about if we're

allowed to touch them, if we're

even supposed to be around them.

- For Macayla to
learn where we came

from, it would
make her stronger.

Our whole family...

What was once ours
was taken from us.

It can return to
us in a good way.

- In my opinion, our
good artifacts have
been stolen, sold.

This stuff should be returned
to the Shoshone tribe.

- Right now we don't have
anyplace to house it.

There's no museum or anything
like that that we have.

- Some of them
may have come from

burial grounds, we don't know.

Taken illegally.

- You have to go through
all kinds of rituals

for them things before
you even touch them.

Otherwise the tribe
could be hurt.

- Those were sacred items
that we're talking about.

Bad things can happen to you.

I was asked if I would
like to go to Chicago.

I said no.

- It's been really
something to try and get

Filbert to commit to
doing the trip to Chicago.

- The thought of getting
up in the air, the memories

of Vietnam kept running
through my head.

When I got home,
when I come back

from the war, my
mind was messed up.

The war messed me up.

I lived with death every day.

That's what caused my divorce.

She was right.

I wasn't the same
man that come home.

I still feel that way, you know.

I was prepared to die any day.

I never left the reservation
because of that reason.

That fear.

- There's a lot of
trauma that returns

with them that
sometimes never leaves.

Being from an Indian
community there's

a lot of historical
trauma that's occurred.

Things that we
need to be able to

come to terms with
in order to heal.

(somber acoustic guitar music)

- There's younger people,
younger generations,

look at those artifacts and
see what they're used for.

They might somehow work
that into their own lives.

If there's someway or
somehow that I can help them.

To help the tribe.

I thought more
and more about it.

I decided to go.

(music swells)

The Arapahos are gonna go along

with the Shoshone to the museum.

(mumbles) one of them.

I've known Ross Wheeler
for most of my life.

And Bobby Joe Goggles.

Also a young girl, Macayla.

- I am definitely
interested in learning

more about the old
ways and to keep

it going because
it is who you are.

No matter what, that's
where you came from.

- Traditionally, the Arapahos

and the Shoshones were enemies.

When I was a kid growing up,

we'd fistfight with
them all the time.

Still there's a
little animosity.

I'm still a bit nervous.

(chuckles)

After getting shot
down three times

I told myself I'm
never gonna fly again.

Three crash landings
is enough for me.

(rhythmic drumming)
(ethereal music)

I have never been to Chicago.

I took one look at the
city and said man...

Who'd wanna live here?

I just felt
uncomfortable downtown.

(chuckles)

There weren't too many
senior citizens around.

You notice that?

There was a few,
but not very many.

Mostly all young people.

They weren't doing very
much, but they looked busy.

(traffic sounds)

My great grandmother
told me whatever

you do, you ask the Creator.

So I prayed before
we went in there

that nothing bad will come to us

from what we see
or what we touch.

- Welcome.

- Hi, nice to meet you, Jamie.

- Phil McCloud.

- Phil McCloud, pleasure to meet

you, welcome to
The Field Museum.

- Hello, Alla Kawali, I'm a
curator here in anthropology.

We are so honored to
have the opportunity

to learn from you
about our collections.

Jamie is gonna take you
through the collections.

You're in good hands with Jamie.

- Okay.

- Pleasure meeting you.

- Okay.

- As soon as you enter you can
see some dinosaurs in there

and what are museums supposed
to represent, you know?

- Museums across the
world, you go in,

natives are a relic of the past.

The idea of them
being here today in

today's word, it's a concept
they don't understand.

- The positive side is
that non-Indians get to

learn about how we used
to be in the old days.

But they don't
really know us now.

(machine beeps)

(ethereal music)

- Shoshones are very scared.

Scared of artifacts
that's been dug up,

that belong to somebody
that's already dead.

We were told don't
bother things like that.

- So just beyond here
is the storeroom where

we'll be looking at
some of the artifacts.

(machine beeps)

(ethereal music)

Soon after these
objects were collected,

it was a common
practice in museums that

they would treat these
artifacts with pesticides,

like for instance
arsonic, to keep the bugs

from literally
eating the artifacts.

Unfortunately at
that time they didn't

take into consideration
the fact that

these poisons that kept the bugs

away were harmful to people that

might wanna touch the artifacts.

(dramatic orchestral music)

- When I think
about objects that

belong to tribal
members that are

just sitting there
in the dark...

I felt angry and I felt sad.

You just walk in
and there's rows and

rows and rows of
all these objects.

They've been boxed away
since they were collected.

Nobody can see them, touch
them, be around them.

- You can just
visualize how we used

all the stuff that
was in the museum.

You'll never see them again.

Being used.

- Back in the early
20th century, there was

a curator here at
the museum, a curator

of anthropology, his
name was George Dorsey.

- The Field Museum
had a curator,

George Dorsey, who
purchased a lot of the

items in their collection
from Wind River.

- These were people who
needed those cash funds.

Their traditional culture
had been removed from them.

They were forced
to participate in

an economy that wasn't theirs.

- Just take all these here
and send them back home to us.

(mumbles).

This pipe is sacred
to us, they go yeah,

that one will soon
be on display.

Where it belongs.

- If you wanna figure
out how to ask for things

then we'll just have
to talk about it

and figure out the
right way to do it.

- Yeah, we can
have some artifacts

on loan if we have
a facility where we

can have them for a
certain period of time.

- Yeah, we can talk about that.

It's all about time and money.

- I knew that during the trip we

weren't gonna return
home with artifacts.

It wasn't gonna happen.

They wanted us to see them.

To provide a certain
context for them,

but they're still owned by them.

They still have them.

It was a sad thought.

We went there, took a few pieces

of ourselves, but we
had to leave them there.

- We also have pictures
in here further on

of scenes that were
taken in the field

by probably some of
the anthropologists

who were out there at the time.

- Seeing them in those
photographs modeling

our dresses, our regalia,
they went through a lot.

They were such strong people.

To see that in those photographs

and the expressions
on their face.

It was sad, but yet...

You were still proud to see it.

- This is falling over.

There's a stick in there.

- Yeah.

- In the rebel's claws.

- Oh I see.

That would keep it safe.

- Yeah.

(speaking foreign language)

(laughter)

Anthropologist asked me and
we had to tell them

a little bit about what
it's for, you know?

Leave it alone.

(chuckles)

'Cause if I tell him
anymore, he'll try

to (mumbles) and
make money on it.

(gentle acoustic guitar music)

I'm just glad to have
seen it, you know.

That part of my life.

I grew up around beaders

my grandma, aunties,
all sewed beads.

My parents raised
me until I was about

six or seven years old, and then

they left me with
my grandparents.

Because my parents,
they drank a lot.

I was living with my
great grandmother.

She was blind.

Being a boy, I had
to walk fast to

keep up with her, she
walked with a cane.

She could move.

She carried a little
bag on her belt.

She always had food in there.

Somehow she knew the
time, around close

to 12 she would call
me and I'd come over.

She got her bag and
we'd eat some bread.

(gentle acoustic guitar music)

- When I was a little
girl, there was an

old man that lived
across the road from us.

He would get his
drum out early in

the morning and you'd
hear him singing.

I used to like to go over there

because he'd sing
all the old songs.

He had (mumbles) bags.

That was where he kept the stuff

that he used for his sacraments.

He was telling me
that those items were

sacred to him, and
why they were sacred

to him, so I just sat
and listened to him.

- I feel very happy
and comfortable to
have made this trip.

It was a lot different,
what I expected.

- I saw a change
come over Filbert.

He came alive, he came
alive around the objects.

At its core, that's what
museums are all about.

That's the power of (mumbles).

They can transform
a person's life.

I started feeling like
I was a part of this.

There's moments
where I'd get chills.

The Creator gives
us different paths

at different times
for a certain reason,

so I was there on that
trip for a certain reason.

I couldn't see it fully,
but it was the start.

- Them artifacts, they
belong to my ancestors.

They should be
taken back and put

somewhere to
someone who can make

use of them, and some
of them, we can't

use them, we take them
out and bury them because

somebody in my tribe could
probably make use of them.

There's something there.

Mixed emotions, you might say.

'Cause with me, it's
not all right with me.

(speaking foreign language)

- He believes that some
of the artifacts that

we use in ceremony don't
really belong there.

Whoever can utilize
them among this group

should take them and
put them back to use.

There's medicine
bundles that are

there that don't
really belong there.

Them bundles should
be returned here,

they should be
examined carefully

by the people that know and are

able to utilize these bundles.

Those other items that are
unidentified, forgotten,

or are lost, considered
to be sacred,

should be returned
to Earth, they should

be taken out in the
hills and buried.

(ethereal music)

- We come home and...

Bobby Joe Goggles, he lost his
life, he died, passed away.

I hope it wasn't something that

happened over there in Chicago.

I hope it's nothing
like that, you know?

- When an elder passes
on, a light goes out.

A light that is gonna lead the

younger generation
to learn about

who we are as Arapaho
and Shoshone people.

It gets harder for
us to find our way.

- I was drafted in the army.

I didn't know where Vietnam
was, I just heard on the radio.

I heard that there
was Communists moving

in there to take
over that place.

So we were there to stop that

Communism from
coming into Vietnam.

I was there in
Vietnam for 11 months.

One more month I
could've come home.

I didn't make it.

There was a big operation.

I forgot my dog
tags in my locker.

I lost one of those
up in the air.

I thought my good
luck charm had gone.

Left the thing in my locker.

Those artifacts were
used to help me survive.

For protection.

(mumbles) picking up
some automatic fire.

I look back on it,
my right gunner,

he was already on the floor.

He was shot.

Most of them
(mumbles) I got shot.

To me it felt like a pitchfork
stuck into straw real strong.

It scared me real bad.

I was scared.

Going into war, you don't know

whether you're
gonna die or live.

You don't know
who are gonna die.

Right there I prayed to God.

I prayed that if it's
Thy will, let it be so.

But I wanna live.

That's the way I prayed.

But I was glad He let me live.

(ethereal music)

Think about better
things, you know.

Think what bad things
I saw over there and

I turned it into something
better, here, today.

Talking about
history, I don't try

to break history
down, I try to make it

better for all of us,
for the rest of us.

(applause)

There's nothing wrong
with having a museum.

Have a museum together.

I hope that the people would

get together and get that going.

(applause)

- I think that we
should focus on the

bishop's collection and
bringing them here 'cause

it's just in Casper
which isn't too far away.

- We're ready to build a museum.

We're ready.

- And we can show
The Field Museum,

show The Smithsonian,
show wherever else

that hey, we can
take care of them.

- (mumbles) came and
took back the artifacts.

A lot of elders will say
that's ours, that's our

stuff, why do we have
to ask to borrow it?

(gentle acoustic guitar music)

What do I wanna do?

I knew things weren't
gonna be easy.

I just kept thinking
about Edith Adam's

collection which was with
the episcopal church.

How did the church
get those artifacts?

Edith Adams was a white woman
who lived on the reservation.

She built up a big
collection of artifacts.

- Edith May Adams
was was a deacon

in the episcopal
church, she lived on

the Wind River
Reservation and developed

really a close and
personal relationship

with the peoples
of the Wind River.

When folks would come to
her, they would barter some

so that food or other
necessities could be bought.

- Late 1800s, early 1900s
on was hard for natives.

Selling objects
was a way for them

to eat, a way for them to live.

- As that collection
grew, I would

imagine she began to
recognize its value.

My hunch is that when
she realized that she

had gathered these great
treasures, she wanted

to find a way to be
able to preserve them.

So she came to her
bishop at that time

and created a will
that would allow

this collection to
belong to the diocese.

- She probably didn't
know where to go,

she probably didn't
know who to ask,

so she went with the
organization she trusted.

That was her episcopal faith.

In a way of grateful
for her to do that

because who knows where
they could've ended up.

She could've sold them
to a museum, she could've

done whatever she
wanted with them.

But she wrote in her will that

she wanted them for the tribes.

That's a very simple
thing, but it's a

very strong thing
accessible to the tribe.

- On the reservation we have
a church, St. Michael's.

It's part of a circle.

There is Parish Hall,
there's the church, there's a

post office, and there
is a museum as well.

- Growing up, I've heard a
lot about my grandpa Robert.

He was very knowledgeable of
the ways and our ceremonies.

When my grandpa Robert
passed away, nobody wanted

to keep the museum
going, so it just closed.

(somber acoustic guitar music)

- It's the bishop's
responsibility to

care for the collection,
to preserve them.

Deterioration happens
if they're not in

the right temperature,
if they're

not in the right
moisture environment.

We had to pull them back
and put them in storage.

- When I took the
artifact from the museum,

it tend to, made a
lot of people mad.

A lot of the people
that came to the church

were asking why'd they do that.

People in different families,

artifacts, that's
where they begin.

A lot of the families
would come back

and say long time ago my dad had

made this, do we still have it?

And I'd say I hope
we do, I don't know.

- This is an article
about my grandpa Robert.

"During this time,
elders and other

"members of the
community worked with

"me to restore the
museum as a public venue.

"One was Robert Sunroads.

"Robert had lived just out
Ethete his entire life.

"Might he had been
one of the keepers

"of Sister Adam's
collections in Ethete?

"We never discussed it.

"I spent hours with my quiet,

"kind, and gentle friend Robert.

"We shared biscuits, gravy and

"coffee as I listened
to his stories.

"Robert loved to just sit in
the museum when I worked there.

"During these times,
the men and the

"objects kept easy
company with each other."

(wind howls)

(ethereal music)

- When we were
first approached by

Jordan Dresser, my
first thoughts to

that were I'm not
really all that

comfortable supporting a casino.

At the same time my
intention, and the diocese's

intention, is not to
lock these items away.

Where they're just
simply being preserved.

- After some time after
not hearing anything,

boom, out of the blue I was
asked to attend a meeting.

The Arapaho members of
the episcopal church

set a date and they
said okay, you can

come and talk about
what you wanna do.

I didn't know what
they were gonna say.

- It would be our
decision, it would be a

mutual decision between
their vestry and me.

- Even though I knew
the majority of them,

still though it was
nerve-wracking, and they

just said we turn the
floor over to you guys.

- Jordan Dresser
explained to the people

what was going on,
it took some time.

- People can feed
off each other,

can feed off the
energy that you give.

We gave them all the
reasons for them to say

yes in a sense because
we had a place for them.

- Even if they decide
yes, we're gonna

give them all back,
and they just don't

let us display them,
that's fine, that's fine.

They were here once before.

It would be nice if they
could all be here again.

They had questions,
they were nervous

that somebody who was gonna view

the artifacts was
gonna go gamble.

- A lot of the older
folks said no no, we don't

need them there, we
don't need them there.

They're just borrowing
them, they're not

gonna keep them there forever.

- They started talking
amongst themselves

in Arapaho, which
I don't understand.

I just felt helpless.

- In our tribe,
they used to always

tell us we don't go backwards.

We go forward.

- When one considers
what the people

of the Wind River
Reservation have

had to go through
throughout history,

some people might
use the word trauma.

I would be comfortable
with the word abuse.

When you have a people
who have been so

wounded, it takes a long
time and a lot of work.

I believe that the
tribes have come

and the peoples have
come a long way.

From my perspective,
the way to move towards

health is to build
relationships with one another.

After a good deal
of thought, we made

the decision to allow
a portion of the

Edith May Adam's
collection to go

over to the Wind
River Reservation

where we can open up
the collection more than

we were ever able to
over the last 50 years.

- It was just such
a great moment.

I had to see the
artifacts being put in the

cases in order for me to
really comprehend it all.

(dramatic acoustic guitar music)

(Native American singing)

- I wanted people
to feel a sense

of pride when they
walked in, this was

a place for us to tell our story

the way we want to tell it.

- Some people might
find it interesting

that a church and a
casino or a diocese

and a casino could
work together.

This was a test.

I mean it really
was a test, it was

a test for them,
it was a test for

us, it was a test for the tribe.

(ethereal music)

- When I got back
from Chicago, I put

most of my energy
into my family.

Just put everything separately

and then you can mix
it the way you want.

Teaching my nieces and nephews.

Such (mumbles).

Watching them grow and
powwows and dancing.

Sewing and beading.

- These ways were taught to our

grandparents by
their grandparents by

their grandparents by
their grandparents.

This right here is a design that

I made more recently
for Macayla.

This is her cape that she
wears when she dances.

The whole design
right here is the sun.

This is the road.

Macayla Sunroads.

This whole design right
here is a butterfly.

There's four of them.

This is her and her friends
when they meet and they compete.

On this side, these
arrowheads are

representing the
achievements that

you've made and you've done and

the achievements
that are to come yet.

That girl's full of
achievements and I

hope that my designs
bring those achievements.

(crowd cheering)

- This time, ladies
and gentlemen,

Macayla Summer
Sunroads will make her

last duty as the
Denver March Princess.

- I will be giving the
crown to the next princess.

I know that I've
had a great year.

But then again
there's the part of me

that's kinda sad that it's over.

- And now ladies and gentlemen,

Macayla will give
her farewell speech.

As anything, as we move
on, it is very difficult

sometimes knowing that
it's coming to an end.

- I didn't think I was gonna
get emotional, but I did.

It's been such an honor.

And my family for
all the support.

And I'm gonna take this with
me all throughout my life.

(cheers and applause)

You get so much
out of that circle

and powwows and
dancing and singing.

I'm very thankful that I
did get that experience.

- After we got those
artifacts back,

there's moments where I
think wow, we made it.

We made it happen.

In seeing people walk
through the room,

and the connections they make.

All this is really beautiful.

Why is that on loan to us?

I thought okay,
this is something

that can empower the community.

Dear Jordan,
congratulations, I am

pleased to inform
you that you have

been accepted for
Fall 2014 admission

to the Museum Studies
Master's Program

at the University
of San Francisco.

- Give me a hug, give me a hug.

(laughter)

(ethereal music)

(children laughing)

- Say a prayer for me, son.

God bless all the sacred things
we have, Heavenly Father.

Mr. Rapose and the old people.

God bless Mother Earth and the

four winds and the four seasons.

Watch over my son.

Protect him.

(mumbles).

Amen.

- Thank you.

- I think when I
was leaving I was

like I don't know
if I can do this.

I just kept telling
myself okay, well just go.

Right before I left to
go to school, my friend

Randy gave me something
to remind me of home.

I was really surprised,
I was really,

like I didn't even know at all.

It's a nice gift.

- We'll always be
with each other.

- Yeah, yeah, thank you.

All right, see you guys.

They all remind me
that people pray

for me, miss me, and
they think about me.

All this is is
really overwhelming.

It reminds me of
being, I take it

back to when I was
19, how excited

you are, and you
get to leave here.

Back then I was so
naive and optimistic.

I think when you're 19, I think

I was doing things for
myself a lot of times.

Now I see where
everything's connected.

It's just not about me, it's not

about me, it's something
bigger and it's

for both tribes, and
I guess in the end,

I don't know, all
my emotions all

bottled up and
everything and how

I feel, I guess I
just feel Arapaho.

I guess that's just the
best way to describe it.

- So where are you
from originally?

- I'm from the Wind
River Indian Reservation.

It's the only
reservation in Wyoming.

- Oh really?

- Yeah.

- And so why the
Museum Studies program?

- Well I work for my
tribe at our casino

and we built a
cultural room in there

that we call the Northern
Arapaho Experience.

There's a large collection
of artifacts that's

owned by the episcopal
church out of Wyoming.

They basically agreed to
loan us them for some time.

- Loan you the artifacts that
belong to the Arapaho tribe.

- Yes, yes.

- Got it.

(laughter)

(gentle acoustic guitar music)

- I feel like now I
have a tribal identity.

I feel more in touch
with my Arapaho,

and even my Shoshone
side than ever before.

Maybe part of the
Indian experience

is that you have
to look at every

decisions you made
in your life and

think how does it
relate to the past.

How can you use the
skills you've been given

to carry on that for
future generations?

When I get homesick
I can close my eyes.

I can think about Wind River.

Visualize the mountains.

The rivers.

It can get me whole again.

- Those artifacts that we saw.

They're still with me.

A drum sound will
change over time

if it's not taken care
of well, you know?

There's something good
about a drum, seeing,

watch the people that
played it, you know?

The people who made it,
what song they were singing.

Those things are, they're
made for something.

The reason behind
it is happiness.

Sure made me feel more safe.

For some reason
that's the way I felt.

Whoever made it, he had a
vow for people to be happy.

To feel good.

(rhythmic drumming)

The sound was still
there, you know?

(mumbles).

Somebody might've
been sick, you know.

It's something to
bring him back.

Bring him back home.

I was troubled, I...

Couldn't get along
very well, you know.

Playing the drum, it
sure helped me out.

(drumming and
acoustic guitar music)

- I can push up real high.

- My niece Macalee
is my goddaughter.

I decided to bead
Macalee an outfit

for her coming into
the powwow circle.

I realized that
I wanna give back

to our tribe and back
to the reservation.

- What Macayla is making is more

a cotemporary version of what is

Arapaho and keeping
that tradition alive.

And that's what
makes the dynamics

of a culture too, it's
not going to be the

same as those artifacts
that we saw in Chicago.

- Everything has its
purpose in the circle.

It keeps going and
going and going.

Without those things,
there's something missing.

People say we're losing
it, we're losing it.

It's fading, but it's not lost.

We haven't lost it all.

This place here is
just like a shadow.

The other side is like a song.

- Bringing in a young one to the

circle is like initiating them.

It's a very big
moment because that's

you starting your life
into the powwow arena.

That's when everybody knows
that you're coming in.

- The way I've taught her,
the second you hear that

drumming, you start putting
your feet to the ground.

As soon as you start
dancing, love it.

Love every minute of
it, love everything.

(dramatic acoustic guitar music)

(Native American chanting)

They give us, for
starts, the song.

That first start of the song,

you dance for our young people.

That second start you dance
for our adolescent years.

That third start
of that song you

dance for adulthood,
dance for strength,

encouragement to
keep our ways going.

That last start, the
fourth start, think of

your old people and the
ones that have gone on.

(rhythmic drumming)

- Thank you very much
from the (mumbles)!

- You get so much out
of that circle and

dancing and that's the
beginning of all of that.

- My grandpa Robert
Sunroads wanted us

as a family to carry
on what he's taught us.

Now when I think
about it, I can really

understand that that's what he

wanted, that's what
grandpa wanted.

- Our ancestors
have fought for us

as Indian people
who live this way.

We're strong people because we

have gone through
so much, and I'm

proud of where I live
and where I come from.

I have to keep fighting
for what I've been given.

- The artifacts that I
used a long time ago,

back in the old days,
they're still alive.

They're still alive.

(rhythmic drumming)
(dramatic orchestral music)

(wind howls)

(gentle acoustic guitar music)

(rhythmic drumming
accompaniment)